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Transcript
REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved
OMB No. 0704-0188 F'u~loo ~oo1ne bl)fllo:t!O< ll>i1 c.o't"""'"' ~ notm.o<·1>'1,.. ~~~ lo ~ I t>ou<""' .w~ ... ~"'I 11>41 o-no lor , • ..;.,_,Q 1ns!Ndlons. $63n;l'>;ng ~"~~"9 doto•ou""''· gul!\ori<>Q ond ml()I\UUOIOQ ill• ~a< I n•~•~. OI'G c<>mplodOQ ~nd roloi,...J\~ 1!\ot ~:6Ct!OO <>I INO<TI\lll1on. S6M ~""'~'• ~raJ>Q 1n1s ~ ,.rmoto 0< ·'-~Y d~r ·~ ollnio r;Qj.o>a'"" o!lfiW!nouon, loo:Jualng JU9QOtUol\) IO'I<auc.ln~ ''"' ou ... on 1> 0.~11\'nW(I[ or OdonM .. Wolllllr"olton rlo3<1Qullrl611 S«vkkoo. ~010< ln<""""lk>n ()peneon1 ~<1<1 /!w<.m. (OT~ IM~ 1116 Je- 0•1o(s ~oy. Su'to 1:10• . .AJr 0<]100. VA JVO~· "30~. ~o-~on\a &h01Jid bo -f1l v-at no~t~J><IIng etty O!rl.,-p<OYI&\«1 ()I I$W, M ~n ~~ .. r;o W~ lO t<'Y~~l)' Iorio.·.: "1110 Cl>P\OIY'*'ill a a)'lo.~ OJ :t>:orm&~Oo ~ lldOO>M:<N~r t C:U,_nlli u•lid O~B con<rot nul)lllolr, P~l! 00 NOT tlll!'ruRH 'rOU~ 'OAJI. TO 'I'H! AllOIIE AOORfSS.
I, j:{~PO~T OA. T~ (00-MM· '(YYY) I 2. ~E.PQRi TYPE .l, OA 'TES COVERED (from· To) 0.. -oS-20 l' M&~ll>t o/ Mir.Lary $1LI()·d~ R~$fUd\ Pal)e' OCT ?0\ I· MAV ~01~
4. nTLE ANO S UeTITLE ~a. CON '!'R.ACT NUMBER
THE CZECHOSLOVAK LEGIONS IN WORLD WAR 1 N/A
eb. GA.ANT NUMSER NIA
tic. PROGR.AA<I ELEMENT NUMGEA. N/A
6. AUn-IOR($) !.d. PROJIOCT NUMeeR
Dziak. Robert N/A
6e. TASK NUMBER N/A
6f. W0Rio( UNIT NUMBER N/A
7, PERFORMING ORGA~Il,AT10N NAME($) ANO ADDRESS(!;S) e. PEI'ti'ORM•NG O~GANIU. 'TION REPO~T
United Sl4ltes Merifle Corps NUMee.R
Command and Slaff College N/A Marine Co1ps Unhte1sity 2076 Sou1h S1ree1
During WWithe Czechs and Slovaks living in Austria-Hungary were reluctant to fight for the monarchy. Military units fighting in frames of French, Russian. Serbian and Italian Armies known as the Czechoslovak legions were created since 1914. Czech and Slovak political leaders joined their eHorts and convinced Entente governments to recognize autonomous Czechoslovak Army. The Legion's efforts in Russia after Brest-Utovsk Peace Treaty prevented Central Powers from reinforcing the Western and Southem fronts with FlOWs released from Russian POW c.:lmps. A lack of manpower and coordination among Allied forces during the intervention to Northern Russia and Siberia did not allow defeat of Bolshevism in 1918- 1920. The performance of Legionaries supported political goals and contributed to Entente's victory in WWI and to establishment of independent Czechoslovakia.
a. REPORT b. ABSTRACT c. iHIS PAGE uu Undassified Unclassified Unclassified
111. NUMBER OF PAGES
59
1~. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON M.'IM" C<>ll>S Un1vat"'fV I Coo1 m:a !1d a.nd Sla!f Call&ge
19b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (indt.Jde area code)
(703) 784-3330 (Admin Office)
Standotd Form 298 (Rev. 8-91!) ProO<.rliMd ~V .lo.HS! St<l. l~9.l•
United Slates Marine Corps Command and Staff College
Marine Corps University 2076 South Streer
Marine Corps Combat Development Command Quantir.:o, Virginia 22134-5068
fVJASTER OF MIUT A R Y STUDfES
TITL.E:
THE CZECHOSLOVAK LEGIONS TN WORLD WART
SUBiVIlTIED fN PARTJAL FUlFillMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF MILITARY STUDJES
AUTHOR~ Major Robert Dziak) Army of the Czech Republic
AY ll-12
Mentor and Oral Defe:nse Commiltee: Member: Dr. Mark R Jacobsen, Professor of Mililary
History
Approved:
Date:
f Edward Erickson, Professor ofMtlitary .f1js1ory
Da,e: . I
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Thesis: The Czechoslovak Legions fighting in World War I significantly assisted to the Entente forces’ victory, and contributed to creation of the independent Czechoslovak Republic. While operating in Russia after the Brest – Litovsk peace treaty, the Legionaries continued fighting the Central Powers in their rear and thus prevented them from reinforcing the Western and Southern fronts.
Research methodology:
Library research Secondary sources and internet research
Argument: Czechoslovak Legions contribution to Entente’s victory. Czechs and Slovaks voluntary decision to fight against Germans and Austro-Hungarians affected by idea of Pan-Slavism and with desire of creation their own sovereign country. Legion as a supportive instrument of diplomatic efforts of its leaders.
Evidence: The Czechs and Slovaks fighting in the French Foreign Legion, in the Serb Voluntary Corps and in the Kornilov’s Detachments. The desire of the Czechoslovaks to fight against Central powers in autonomous national units within Entente armies. Operations in East Russia after the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty. Support of anti-Bolshevik movement.
Content: Introduction – Creation of Legions – The Czechoslovak Legion in France – The Czechoslovak Legion in Italy – The Czechoslovak Legion in Russia – The Czechoslovak Volunteers in Serb Corps in Russia – Obstacles in Creation of Independent Czechoslovak Units – Battle of Zborov – Kornilov’s Shock Detachment – Czechoslovak Legion in Russia after Brest-Litovsk Treaty – The Uprising of the Legion – North Russia and Siberian Intervention and the Czechoslovaks – Evacuation from Russia – Conclusion: Contribution and Significance of the Legions
Appendices: A – Timeline B – Map of The Trans-Siberian Rail Road C – Excerpt from the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions D – The Czechoslovak Legion and Admiral Kolchak E – The Czar’s Golden Treasure
Submitted by: Dziak, Robert Major, Czech Army
3
SUMMARY
The thesis is a study of the birth of the Czechoslovak Legions during World War I.
Although the Czechs and Slovaks were citizens of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, they
believed in the pan-Slavic idea and strongly desired to create their own country. The subject is
researched through actions of Legionaries in France, Italy, and is mainly focused on
Czechoslovak troops in Russia. It examines the main motives of the Czechs’ and Slovaks’
alienation and disloyalty to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, grounds of their wish to join
military forces of the opponent countries, and their will to stay in the fight after the war ended in
the environment overwhelmed by the Bolshevik propaganda. The paper answers the questions:
Why were the Legions created? What were the main obstacles in the creation of such units?
What political goal did their actions support? Why did the Czechoslovaks supported by Allied
Intervention to Russia not defeat Bolsheviks together? Why did the Czechoslovak Legion in
Russia hand over Admiral Kolchak to Bolsheviks? What happened with Czar's gold?
4
DISCLAIMER
THE OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS EXPRESSED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE
INDIVIDUAL STUDENT AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE
VIEWS OF EITHER THE MARINE CORPS COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE OR ANY
OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY. REFERENCES TO THIS STUDY SHOULD INCLUDE
THE FOREGOING STATEMENT.
QUOTATION FROM, ABSTRACTION FROM, OR REPRODUCTION OF ALL OR ANY
PART OF THIS DOCUMENT IS PERMITTED PROVIDED PROPER
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IS MADE.
5
Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 2
APPENDIX A – TIMELINE ........................................................................................................ 37
APPENDIX B – TRANSSIBERIAN RAILROAD ...................................................................... 47
APPENDIX C - Excerpt from the Hague Conventions 1899 and 1907 ....................................... 48
6
APPENDIX D – Admiral Kolchak and the Legion ...................................................................... 54
APPENDIX E – The Czar’s Treasure ........................................................................................... 59
7
The Czechoslovak Legions – Introduction
The Czechoslovak Legions were independent military units formed and fighting within
national armies of Triple Entente, during the period of World War I (WWI). The Legions1
The Czechoslovak Legions fighting in World War I significantly assisted to the Entente
forces’ victory, and contributed to creation of the independent Czechoslovak Republic. While
operating in Russia after the Brest – Litovsk peace treaty, the Legionaries continued fighting the
were
formed before the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the sovereign country of two brother nations
with common history. Ancestors of the Czechs and Slovaks had created their first common
duchy in the ninth century2 and later lived together under Habsburg dominance since 1526 in
Austria – Hungary until the end of the Great War. During the Prussian-Austrian war of 1866 the
Czechs fought for the Habsburgs eagerly. However, the Austro-Hungarian compromise of 18673
knocked the Czech constitutional efforts down. The Hungarians, unlike the Czechs, were given
wide autonomy. The atmosphere in the Empire was strongly marked by growing pan-German
feelings and it was emphasized to Czechs that as the Slavs, they were by definition enemies of
the Monarchy and were potential traitors. At the outbreak of WWI, Germans and Austrians
called it “the war of the Germans against the Slavs.” Czech conscripts went to war with
reluctance. They were forced to fight the Slavs in Serbia and in Russia. The situation of Slovaks
in the Hungarian part of the Empire was similar. From the first days of the war, Czechs and
Slovaks in France, Serbia, Bulgaria, and especially in Russia commenced their fight for
independence. Initially they joined the national armies of particular allied states and later formed
the first military units of Czech and Slovak volunteers, namely in France, Italy, and Russia called
the Czechoslovak Legions. Formally “The Czechoslovak Military Forces Abroad” comprised
totally over 100,000 men and women without having their own country.
8
Central Powers in their rear and thus prevented them from reinforcing the Western and Southern
fronts.
Creation of the Legions
The first units drew from the Czechs and Slovaks who had lived or worked in France and
Russia. Others were prisoners of war (POWs). Most of the men had undergone military training
in the Austro-Hungarian army. When they found themselves in POW camps, they were either
recruited or (mostly) volunteered to join the troops fighting alongside the Allies with a goal to
create the independent Czechoslovakia. The Legionaries remained formally citizens of the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and as such if caught, they would be immediately court-martialed
and executed. Czechs and Slovaks were technically traitors and had turned against their land of
origin, which meant betrayal regardless of the fact that they did not feel themselves as Austrians
or Hungarians. In addition, many Legionaries were afraid of possible persecution of their family
members back home in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; therefore maintained practically no
contact with their families until October 1918 when the independent Czechoslovakia was
declared.
The “Sokol” (Falcon) movement played a major if not most important role in formation
of the Legions. It was founded in 1862 in Prague4 and it was a civic movement supporting
physical training and patriotism. Its principles set up by Dr. Miroslav Tyrs comprise “strength
and manliness, activity, endurance, love towards freedom and fatherland, voluntary work and
discipline and brotherhood of all members.”5 The latter has been supported by addressing each
other as “brother” or “sister.” The organization uses own uniforms and members greet each other
by the greeting “Nazdar.” It has been characterized by advertising a healthy lifestyle and a warm,
9
patriotic relationship to the fatherlands – to the Czech lands and Slovakia. In the end of the
nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century the Sokol movement organized daily exercises
in gymnastics, archery, wrestling, rowing, marksmanship and fencing (Dr.Tyrs worked out
“Physical Training Fundamentals”), weekend marches to the countryside, and public
performances. Foundations, values, and beliefs of the Sokols played the critical role in formation
of the Legions and their actions. Even though the Legionaries operating in France, Italy, and
Russia had different uniforms, the Sokol’s sign was incorporated in symbols of all three
contingents.
The Czechoslovak Legion in France
The first Czechoslovak unit deployed on the front was “Compagnie NAZDAR”6 founded
23 AUG 19147 particularly from expatriates living in France, especially those organized in clubs
Sokol and Rovnost8. It comprised 300 volunteers and was an integrated company of one of
Moroccan division battalions of the Foreign Legion9. On 16 JUN 1915, after the brave fight at
Arras the Czechoslovaks suffered huge losses. Although the NAZDAR Company was disbanded
and survivors dispersed in different regiments of the Foreign Legion, the unit laid the foundation
of independent Czechoslovak armed forces and subsequently of the independent Czechoslovakia.
A diplomatic work of Thomas Garrique Masaryk, the future Czechoslovak President, and
general Milan Rastislav Stefanik10 during 1915 and 1916 brought French promises of support to
expanded Czechoslovak engagement on the Western front. Masaryk and Stefanik started to
organize Czechoslovak troops in France. New volunteers and whole units already established
began to report to Czechoslovak units from Romania and Russia. Additionally the first wave of
American Czechoslovaks arrived in November 191711. Also fifty survivors from the Compagnie
10
NAZDAR of the French Foreign Legion created a base of the future Czechoslovak Army12.
French president Raymond Poincaré signed the Decree that allowed organizing of autonomous
Czechoslovak Military Forces (although still within the French Army) on 19 DEC 191713. The
Decree officially removed a legal burden from the Armies of Entente that employed Czechs and
Slovaks under their colors. Shortly after, the 21st Rifle Regiment was established in Cognac on
12 JAN 1918 (See Appendix A). The arrival of the second group from Russia accompanied by
Czechs and Slovaks from POW camps, volunteers from the Italian front, and members of the
former Serbian First Infantry Division helped to create the 22nd Rifle Regiment in spring of 1918.
Both regiments formed the First Czechoslovak Brigade in Darney. The brigade operated under
the French command and took part in fighting at Michelbach, Jonchéry-sur-Vesle, and especially
at Terron and Vouziers. On 29 JUN 1918 the French government recognized the right of Czechs
and Slovaks to establish their own sovereign state within historical borders of its lands. On 30
JUN 1918 both regiments took an oath and were inspected by the French president and granted
colors. This event is still celebrated as the Czech Army birthday.
The Czechoslovak Legion in Italy
The Czechs and Slovaks in Italy, however, had a different experience. It was very
difficult to convince Italians to accept the idea of the Czechoslovak Legions. Before 1914 no
more than several hundred Czechs and Slovaks had lived in Italy, mainly students in Rome. The
Italians considered them enemy citizens and did not trust them. Similarly to its activities in other
countries around the world, the Czechoslovak National Council made efforts to gain Italian
support. For Italy to recognize the Czechoslovak Legion would mean to commit to dissolution of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy only wanted to get back the lands occupied by Austria and
11
not to lose the territories claimed by Yugoslavia. In late 1916 “The Committee of the
Czechoslovak Independence” was created by several Italian opposition politicians and indeed
supported the creation of the Czechoslovak Legion in Italy. Many of the Austro-Hungarian
POWs taken during 1915-1916 were Czechs or Slovaks. Nevertheless, Italians even did not
allow the creation of POW camps according to nationality until January 1917. Then the first
POW camp of Santa Maria Capua Vetere near Napoli – a long way from the front was assigned
to Czech and Slovak captives. Here the Czechoslovak Corps of Volunteers was created on 17
JAN 1917 under the leadership of Brother Josef Capek, a Sokol leader. It has been a rule of the
Sokol movement that members call each other a brother or sister, and this tradition was kept in
all units of the Czech Legions during World War I. The Legionaries addressed each other as
“brother Lieutenant,” “brother Corporal,” or “brother General.”14
First of all, the Czechoslovak scouts entered the fight as a part of the Italian forces as so-
called "Esploratori Cecoslovacchi." The Czechs and Slovaks were often used as scouts in all
Entente armies for their good knowledge of the German and Hungarian languages and Austro-
Hungarian tactics. Although these units were very successful in gathering tactical intelligence
and were highly prized by Italian headquarters, the Italian government hesitated to allow creation
of the Czechoslovak autonomous units, and the only achievement was the permission to create
work battalions to support military purposes. The heavy defeat at Caporetto in late 191715 and
intensive negotiations of General Stefanik with Italian government changed the situation. The
establishment of the Czechoslovak Military Forces in Italy was approved on 21 APR 191816 and
its first commander was General Andrea Graziani. During the negotiations, General Stefanik told
Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando: “I do not request anything from you, but to
allow our people to die for their ideals.” The soldiers of the Czechoslovak Division in Italy (6th
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Czechoslovak Division) took the oath in Rome’s Piaza di Venezia on 24 MAY 1918 (see
Appendix A).
In August 1918 the division was transferred to the front near the Lake Garda to guard the
front line between the lake and the river Adige – the Altissimo sector at Doss Alto ridge. The
Czech division saw heavy fights at the Monte Baldo massif to defend the positions at Height
Doss Alto. Nearly 1,190 men were wounded or killed in action.
Nearly 20,000 men joined the Legion in Italy where two Czechoslovak divisions took
part in battles at Piave, Montello Mountain, Monte di Garda, Val Bella, Cima Tre Penzi, Cima
Cada, Passo Tomale, and Monte Assolone.17 Shortly after the war was over, the Czechoslovak
Army Corps in Italy was formed. Under the command of Italian General Luigi Piccione, the
Corps was deployed to fight for the territorial integrity in Slovakia in Hungarian – Czechoslovak
war (1918-1920).18 Beside this, the Czechoslovak National Guard in Italy was created from the
POWs who reported to Czechoslovak Military Authorities in Italy after 28 OCT 1918 when an
independent Czechoslovakia had been recognized. These forces comprised fifty five National
Guard battalions totaling 60,000 troops and were still returning home as late as during the first
half of 1919.
The Czechoslovak Legion in Russia
Tens of thousands of Czechs and Slovaks had lived on the territory of the Russian Empire
before WWI broke out. They were mainly farmers working and living in the area of Volhyn,
many of them with Russian citizenship. Secondly, there was the number of Czech teachers,
business representatives, workers, and musicians in Russia – Austro-Hungarian citizens who
were legally obliged to report to garrisons in the Monarchy and fight for the Habsburgs. Czechs
13
and Slovaks in Russia organized large demonstrations against Austria-Hungary during August
1914 and expressed their wishes to fight against the Central Powers by joining the Russian
Forces. After the series of requests to Russian military representatives the first Czechoslovak unit
was created. “Ceska Druzhina” (Czech Company) a voluntary unit that became the base of the
Czechoslovak Legion in Russia was established on 12 AUG 1914 from compatriots living and
working in Russia19. Its core was formed by 720 volunteers (among them future distinguished
leaders – Josef Jiri Svec, Karel Vasatko, and Stanislav Cecek); commanding positions in
Druzhina were occupied mainly by Russian officers from the beginning, and the unit included
other nationalities (Serbs mainly). The military oath ceremony took place in Kiev (today’s
Ukraine) on Saint Wenceslaus20 Day on 28 SEP 1918.21 Druzhina members usually operated in
small reconnaissance groups within the Russian 3rd Imperial Army. The company never operated
as a whole; instead its members were tasked with minor attacks, distribution of leaflets along the
front line, and acquiring critical information from POWs. They were convincing the Czechs and
Slovaks in Austro-Hungarian forces both in POW camps and directly on battlefields to change
sides in the conflict.
The Czechoslovak Volunteers in Serb Corps in Russia
Around 1,000 Czechs and Slovaks chose to enter the Serb Volunteer Corps in Odessa
rather than wait months for approval of their application to Ceska Druzhina. The Serb Corps had
been created in spring 1915, and admission to it was less complicated than to the Ceska
Druzhina. The officers could keep their rank achieved in the Austro-Hungarian Army.
Volunteers were put in the First Serb Division under the command of Colonel Stevan Hadzic22.
14
The unit wore Serb uniforms, it was driven by Serb regulations, and strict discipline was
imposed. Although poorly equipped, the division was employed at the battle of Dobruja
(Balkans) as a part of the 47th Russian Expeditionary Corps after Romania joined Entente in
1916. After the initial success of the Allies in the Dobruja campaign, the Bulgarian army
reinforced by the German division of General von Mackensen managed to force the Russian-
Serb-Romanian Task Force to conduct a long series of retrograde operations for more than a
month including a 150-kilometer retreat within eight days to Isaccea (Romania)23. The Division,
including the Czechoslovak contingent suffered heavy losses – up to sixty percent of troops were
killed, wounded, and missing in action. The Czech contingent within the Serb Division lost
significant number of troops. In the autumn of 1916 the Serbs started to form the Second
Division and offered the Czechs and Slovaks to enter it. But the Serbs had apparently no
intention to form independent Czechoslovak units; therefore, a majority of them decided to join
the Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade that operated in the frame of the Russian army. More than 600
volunteers left for Kiev in January 1917. Only a part of the Czechoslovaks stayed with the Serb
Division and together with their Serb co-fighters fought in the Macedonian front24 in 1917. From
there they were transferred to newly formed Czechoslovak units fighting on Western fronts,
namely to France. The performance of the Legionaries in combat along Serbs gained trust of the
Entente Governments that became more willing to support the Czechoslovak claims. Moreover,
the Allies welcomed disciplined military units that were desperately needed among French
mutineers.
15
The Obstacles in the Creation of Independent Czechoslovak Units
The Czechs’ and Slovaks’ desire for their own independent military forces was motivated by the
belief that by fighting for the Allies they would build up political credit and win support for the
Czechoslovak national representation. However, it took a long time for the Allies, especially for
Russia to agree with the formation of independent Czechoslovak units. The situation was
complicated by the fact that the Czechs and Slovaks de jure remained citizens of Austria-
Hungary, and thus their employment against the country of their origin by the Allies could have
been considered as breaking of the 1907 Hague Convention25. The Czar had supported the Hague
Conventions (see Appendix C). Although he appreciated their bravery, he considered the Czechs
and Slovaks to be traitors to a brother Monarch. Thus, he was reluctant to accept volunteer units
of foreign nationals from Russian enemies. Even after the Czar was overthrown the decision
remained unchanged. The Provisional Government feared disaffection in the Russian Army.
According to the same war convention, each individual POW conducting military action against
“the Government to whom he had pledged his honor, or against the allies of that Government
forfeit his right to be treated as POW, and can be brought before the courts”26, which in WWI
equaled an execution. The Czechoslovak leader – Thomas Garrigue Masaryk used these
arguments as the key points in his political negotiations with the Allies. The fact that the
Czechoslovak soldiers refused to fight for the Central Powers and instead fought for the Entente
strongly demonstrated loyalty to the Allies, and Masaryk hoped to eventually harvest the
political fruits of those sacrifices. Political representation of Masaryk and his adherents Dr.
Edvard Benes (later the second Czechoslovak President – after Masaryk) and General Stefanik
supported by the net of followers27 from the territory of Austria-Hungary, made huge diplomatic
efforts in France, Great Britain, and United States to gain political assistance from strong,
16
recognized democracies in implementing the vision of Czechs and Slovaks. After the February
1917 revolution Masaryk came to Russia where he started negotiations on the “Legion matter”
with the Russian Provisional government and it’s Prime Minister Alexandr Kerensky. In Russia,
there was the strongest Czechoslovak military community, and Masaryk knew it could support
his political and military strategy. Benes remained in Paris and worked on political issues
concerning democratic principles and proposed borders of the new Czechoslovak Republic.
Stefanik travelled around France, Italy, and Russia promoting the relationships with the Legions’
host Governments, facilitated recruitments and led negotiations to achieve autonomy of the
Czechoslovak units. The Allies, however, hesitated to admit such an idea.
The turning point for the Czechs and Slovaks was the revelation that the Central Powers
broke the Hague Conventions by using poison gas (chlorine) at Ypres on 22 APR 1915 and the
German implementing of policy of unrestricted submarine warfare (e.g. torpedoing of unarmed
steamer Sussex on 24 MAR 1916). This allowed the Entente to legally employ the Czechoslovak
troops against the Central Powers since the Conventions were no longer valid after one of the
signatories broke them (see Appendix C). The greatest moment for the Czechoslovak cause was
the heroic fight of the 1st Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade - as a part of Russian Army in the battle of
Zborov.
The Battle of Zborov
The First Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade within the 11th Russian Army was formed in MAY 1916
on the base of the Ceska Druzhina, which expanded by attaching of smaller groups of Russian
citizens with Czech or Slovak origin and by slow influx of POWs. The Brigade’s mission
remained reconnaissance in various territories from Galicia and Carpathians through Volhyn,
17
Stokhod, and Pripyat. The Brigade already fought in the Brusilov Offensive in April 1916 and
the Czech and Slovak soldiers were highly confident and motivated.
As a part of the so called Kerensky 1917 Offensive the Brigade was employed in Zborov in the
Ukraine. More than 3,500 men under the command of Russian Colonel V. P. Trojanov came to
the trenches after they had relieved Russian units in place during the night of 21 JUN 1917 with
the task to operate on the six-kilometer long line. The 4th and 6th Finnish divisions fought beside
the Czechoslovaks to their North and to their South respectively28. The Czechs and Slovaks in
the Russian Army were facing fellow Czechs and Slovaks in the Austro-Hungarian Army29. On
02 JUL 1917, the second day of the offensive, after initial artillery bombardment the Legionaries
equipped with grenades attacked the enemy as a shock unit. After they breached barbed wire
defenses, follow-up units continued with the attack. The Legion advanced deep into enemy
territory, seized four lines of enemy trenches, and at the end of the day captured 3,300 enemy
soldiers, 20 cannons, and large amounts of war material. The Czechoslovak losses numbered 167
killed, 17 mortally wounded, 11 missing, and around 700 injured30. The Legion made a major
penetration of enemy lines – only the Russian Kornilov Detachment was more successful. The
brigade’s victorious performance went for little as the majority of Russian units failed, and the
Kerensky Offensive ended before the end of July.
In the grand scheme of things the battle of Zborov had only a minimal importance for the
course of the Great War, but it represented a significant milestone in the Czechoslovak Legion
history. The Brigade’s performance gained Russian as well as international appreciation and thus
facilitated further POWs’ recruitment for new Czechoslovak regiments in Russia.
18
Kornilov’s Shock Detachment
Monarchist General Lavr Kornilov, a commander of the 8th Russian Army formed special
voluntary units called the “Battalions of Death,” the “Shock Battalions,” or the “Voluntary
Battalions.” Kornilov Battalions were efficient battle-worthy units and represented an exact
opposite to pacifist-minded, war-weary, and demoralized soldiers who infested the Russian
Army of 191731. One company of the Czech and Slovak volunteers fought within a Kornilov
Shock Detachment. They joined the unit in May 1917 after a long wait for their applications to
Czechoslovak Rifle Regiments. Czechoslovak storm troopers led by Captain Karel Mejstrik32
accompanied General Kornilov, who was appointed as the Russian Army Commander in Chief
(named on 19 JUL 1917) during his Coup d'état attempt in August 1917. They guarded the
General during the house arrest at Moghilev and during the later detention of twenty Czarist
Generals in the Bykhov monastery33. After the coup ended, the Shock Detachment was
transformed to the 1st Slavic Shock Regiment that continued to operate within the 1st
Czechoslovak Division. It was disbanded when the Ukraine declared its independence in JAN
1918. The Czechoslovak members of the regiment were ordered to join the 4th Czechoslovak
Regiment34. Despite the orders, a part of Czechoslovak troopers followed General Kornilov to
the Don region where he joined Russian General Mikhail Alekseyev who had opposed
Kornilov’s assignment to the position of Commander in Chief35 earlier that year. A
Czechoslovak battalion operated within the new Kornilov Shock Regiment in the Volunteer
Army of the Whites until 1919. Certain elements of Kornilov Shock Regiment’s insignia (skull
and crossbones, often accompanied with the sign “Kornilovtsi” in Cyrillic) were worn by the
members of the Independent Shock Battalion, operating within the Czechoslovak Legion.36
19
Actions of the Czech and Slovak soldiers under the Kornilov’s command contributed to Russian
decision to accept expansion of existing Czechoslovak forces in Russia.
The enlargement of the Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade came shortly after the battle of
Zborov. Four regiments of the brigade with new commander Nikolai Petrovich Mamontov were
completed and the unit was named “The Hussite Division.”37 Another four regiments were
created soon after and so the 2nd Czechoslovak Division could be inspected by T. G. Masaryk in
August 1917. The two divisions and two newly created artillery brigades formed the
Czechoslovak Army Corps in Russia on 09 OCT 1917 under the command of General Vladimir
Shokorov38. The Corps had so many volunteers that it was even able to form a reserve brigade
and a shock battalion. Officially the Corps was subordinate to Russian supreme headquarters, the
command language was Russian, in some cases Czech or Slovak languages were accepted, and
French disciplinary regulations were implemented. The force was administratively controlled by
the Czechoslovak National Council Regional Bureau – OCSNR (as it was in Italy).
Masaryk’s efforts in Russia brought fruit, and soon he was able to build the autonomous
Czechoslovak Corps of more than 50,000 soldiers. He enjoyed the highest level of authority
among the troops and supported the Legion by writing articles, lecturing, visiting garrisons of the
regiments and military hospitals, and talking to POWs of Czech and Slovak origin in Russian
POW camps. He strongly supported military education and training programs within the Legion,
so the Czechoslovaks soon ran their own military education system including the Air Force
school. Although small OCSNR branches were established, Masaryk represented and shaped the
political leadership of Czechoslovakia in Russia personally during 1917 and early 1918. Thanks
to Benes’ and Stefanik’s agitation in Paris, Masaryk was able to declare the Czechoslovak Corps
in Russia as a part of the Autonomous Czechoslovak Army (with its headquarters in France) on
20
07 FEB 1918. This was a key step towards legitimacy and independence. After the United States
entered the War he left Russia to gain support from the US President Woodrow Wilson. His
position among American politicians was already established, since Masaryk had lectured at the
University of Chicago in 1902 and 1907. The idea of an indipendent republic of Czechs and
Slovaks was supported by the large Czech-American and Slovak-American community
(2,000,000 in the Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland regions). Besides this large group of
compatriots he found great supporter in Chicago businessman Charles Crane, who helped
Masaryk to find political and financial sources to sustain Czechoslovak Army.39 Additional
resources were needed because the Russian Bolshevik Government manifested its desire to end
the war even under disadvantegous conditions. An armistice with Central Powers would allow
Bolsheviks to stabilize internal affairs in Russia, but at the same time, it would mean the end of
sustainment of foreign military forces supporting Russians against Central Powers.40
The Czechoslovak Legion in Russia after the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty
The Czechoslovak Brigade withdrew to Kiev after the Battle of Zborov. Since the
Ukraine had signed a separate peace treaty on 09 FEB 1918, the Legion launched its movement
to France, either via Archangelsk/Murmansk ports or through Siberia to Vladivostok and then
around the world to Western fronts to fight along with the Allies. The Ukraine was gradually
occupied by the Central Powers, and therefore the Legion’s retreat featured the number of
skirmishes especially at Doch, Korostychev, and Bakhmach. The last turned to a six-day battle.
Bakhmach was an important railroad junction, and the battle was fought on approaching railroad
tracks alternately torn out and repaired by both sides, and catching two German divisions in
ambushes. The Legionaries in Bakhmach simultaneously fought the approaching enemy,
21
facilitated the retreat of its entire 1st Division with 10,000 troops coming from South of Kiev, and
secured their own evacuation Eastwards. They employed two Regiments and the Shock Battalion
to delay the enemy advance. The Legion was already prepared to depart the Ukraine, and the first
Czechoslovak trains departed Bakhmach even before the battle. A total of 27 locomotives and
750 box cars were dispatched. By the dawn of 12 MAR 1918 all elements of the Legion
withdrew to the East41.
The fact that the Ukraine was occupied by the Central Powers and that Russia had
already signed the peace treaty worsened the odds of the Czechoslovak troops reaching Western
Europe. Murmansk and Archangelsk were too dangerous, as a part of the Serb Legion had been
captured by Red Guards and interned to POW camps in Kazan (where they stayed until the
Legion later seized Kazan). The Corps assembled in Penza on 19 MAR 1918, and heavy political
negotiations between the OCSNR and the Soviet government started. The Bolsheviks wanted to
disarm the Czechoslovaks, and Stalin, the Russian chief negotiator prepared an agreement
according to which the Legionaries were approved to travel through Siberia as civil persons with
the certain amount of weapons for self-defense. The “Stalin’s contract” was signed on 26 MAR
1918; nevertheless, only one third of the transport reached Vladivostok. The rest of it was spread
out along the Trans-Siberian railroad and blocked by Bolsheviks at various points.
The Czechoslovak soldiers headed East, which was farther from their fatherlands, but the
German and Austro-Hungarian POWs released from the camps travelled directly home,
Westward. Count Wilhelm von Mirbach-Harff, the German ambassador in Moscow, pressured
Leonid Trotsky, Minister of Military Affairs to disarm and arrest the Czechoslovaks, since the
Germans didn’t like organized armed forces loyal to Entente in their rear after the Brest-Litovsk
peace. The Red forces were under German influence. At each station on the way to Vladivostok,
22
the Bolsheviks demanded more weapons to be handed over. The Legionaries had followed
Masaryk’s and OCSNR‘s instructions to remain neutral, not to intervene in Russian internal
affairs, and to obey all Soviet orders. But the Reds did everything possible to get rid of this
burdensome transport. They even deliberately delayed the trains with the Czechoslovaks. The
telegram from 21 APR 1918 says: “To the Krasnoyarsk Soviet. Being afraid of Japanese attack
upon Siberia, Germany requests an immediate commencement of evacuation of German
prisoners of war from Eastern to Western Siberia or to European Russia. Use all possible means.
It is not necesary to transport Czech forces to the East. Chicherin.”42 Georgy Vasilyevich
Chicherin, the first Soviet people’s comissair of foreign affairs and the Brest-Litovsk treaty
signatory considered Legionaries the rebels and an obstacle in Bolsheviks’ efforts to seize
control over Russia (see Appendix A).
The Uprising of the Legion
On 14 MAY 1918, the railway station in Chelyabinsk was full of trains with soldiers of
two belligerent sides. One of the returning Austro-Hungarian POWs (later found to be a Czech
by origin)43 deadly injured a Legionary by throwing a military metal award. After the
Czechoslovaks lynched the perpetrator, the Bolsheviks arrested them. A group of armed
Legionaries rescued the detainees and took back the weapons previously handed over to the Reds
and some more. The local Red Guards exaggerated the incident in a report to Trocky making it
out to be a revolt. This ignited the Czechoslovak Legion uprising. The leaders of the uprising
realized that there had been over 450,000 POWs in Russia before the peace treaty, and that a
significant number of former POWs collaborated with Bolsheviks. Besides the Bolsheviks, other
armed rebels were conducting raids along the way through Siberia. If the Czechoslovaks
23
continued to be disarmed on the route to Vladivostok, they would be vulnerable to Trotsky’s
intentions to be blocked and turned over to Austro-Hungarian authorities. The strategic
realization convinced Legion leaders that such a big mass of the German and Austro-Hungarian
troops can shift the balance when redeployed to either the Western or Southern front. After the
Chelyabinsk incident, Trotsky issued an order that called for full disarmament of every
Czechoslovak soldier and “Those who do not do so voluntarily will be shot on the spot.”44 The
same order had been issued by Simon Ivanovich Aralov, Chief Operations section of Military
Commissariat in Moscow. Aralov considered the Czechoslovaks to be the remnants of the former
Czarist Russian regular army.45 Maybe to his disappointment, the new Legion Commander
General Jan Syrovy issued the order No.47 on 26 APR 1918 that imposed commanding and
communication language to be either Czech or Slovak instead of Russian.46 This small step
motivated the Legionaries significantly. Now they were members of the independent army. The
troops were still learning French preparing themselves for Western battlefields. However, now a
different front awaited them – Siberian.
Soviets' efforts stretched the Legion from Penza to Vladivostok on a 6,000 mile route cut
off from each other in positions difficult to defend. The Congress of the Czechoslovak Forces
was held in Chelyabinsk on 21 to 23 MAY 1918. It temporarily suspended Corps HQ, elected
“Collegium,” the provisional management, and decided the Legion would make its way to
Vladivostok armed. Three most significant members of the Collegium, Regiment commanders
Lieutenant Stanislav Cecek, Staff Captain Radola Gajda, and Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Sergej
Vojtsechovky were tasked by the Congress to plan the transport. The Reds followed Trotsky’s
orders attempting to stop and disarm the Czechoslovaks. This began an armed conflict between
the two sides.
24
The plan of the military operation suggested to connect all the towns along the Trans-
Siberian Railway where the Legion’s units (and trains) were held in stations. After the route was
secured, all the Czechoslovaks’ troops would gradually retreat to Vladivostok. From there – as
the plan still assumed – the Legion would be taken to France by allied ships.
The Corps was divided into three groups – Penza group under Cecek command,
Chelyabinsk group under LTC Jan Syrovy, and Eastern group under General Mikhail Dieterichs.
Legionaries seized Chelyabinsk and Novo-Nikolaevsk soon after on 26 MAY 1918. Liberation
of other towns followed and Mariinsk, Nizhny-Udinsk, Kansk, Penza, Syzran, Petropavlovsk,
Tomsk, and Kurgan were seized within the next week. To ensure connection of all groups, the
Chelyabinsk group seized Omsk and on 10 JUN 1918 it joined with the Eastern group. The
Penza group made its way Eastward by seizing Samara and Ufa. The Eastern group took over the
control of Vladivostok, and the Legion headed to Yekaterinburg; however, Czechoslovaks did
not succeed in saving the Czar. Bolsheviks were afraid of the possible Emperor’s influence if he
was freed, thus they rather hastily masacred the Czar and his family when the Legion approached
the city. Kuzneck, Kazan, and Irkutsk were seized, and the Czechoslovaks found themselves
controlling the whole portion of the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Penza to Vladivostok before
the end of August 1918 (see Appendices A and B). The tactics had to be adjusted to fighting
often larger forces. Small groups of Czechoslovaks infiltrated into enemy‘s rear, caused panic,
and then unit’s main body followed them by surprising shock attacks using envelopments.
Armored trains and cavalry played the important role together with the high degree of mobility
and fast assaults on static Soviet troops waiting in trenches followed by rapid retreat. The White
Army in Siberia joined the Legion followed by the local population and antibolshevik
movement. The Legion even fought naval battles and used its own air support47 especially in the
25
Lake Baikal area where LTC Ushakov’s48 envelopment by water ways saved a significant part of
railroad tunnels49.
When the first phase of the plan was accomplished and the Legion reached Vladivostok,
the Czechoslovaks found the Allies there, but no ships. Despite the Czechoslovak intentions, the
Allies - especially the British - had different objectives. They wanted to keep the Legion in
Russia to block German and Austro-Hungarian Forces and prevent them from reinforcing the
Western front or to penetrate Siberia. The Legionaries were asked to return back and to help to
renew the Eastern front.
The Allied Intervention to North Russia and Siberia and the Czechoslovaks
Two things affected Legion’s next actions in Russia: first, the Allies were not able to
transfer the Legion to the Western front fast enough to achieve the desire effect, and second, the
Allies’ promised to support the Czechoslovaks in fighting the Bolsheviks and help to build new
Russian Army (by Agreement of Allied Supreme War Council from 02 JUL 1918). The Legion
turned back – Westward and continued to fight the Bolsheviks who were heavily supported by
the Internationalists, recruited Austro-Hungarian and German POWs. Engagement of the Reds
and subsequently the Central Powers in Russia could better support the Allies' strategy on the
Western front and thus could assist diplomatic efforts of the Czechoslovak National Council. The
New Eastern front was established in Siberia and Ural. Additional recruitments and mobilization
of Austro-Hungarian POWs of the Czech and Slovak origin took place since the Legion lacked
reserves and replacements. These new members (14,000) either joined the Legion or were
employed in technical or medical sections.50 However, after the summer success and the
euphoric victories, the moral status of the Czechoslovak troops gradually worsened. Legionaries
26
expected to be reinforced or relieved by Allies, but the French, British, and Americans sent only
the symbolic number of troops to Russia and with a poor mandate51. Representatives of the
Entente could not agree on the single joint plan in Russia. Only the Japanese deployed in large
numbers, but they persuaded their own interests of building a protectorate comprising parts of
Manchuria, Mongolia, and South Siberia52. They, unlike the Czechoslovaks did not have any
interest in strong and united Russia that would never allow them to occupy a part of its territory.
Thus, over 70,000 Japanese troops operated mainly in the Eastern part of Siberia with no
apparent intention to go Westward of Irkustsk.
The British had their own interests in Archangelsk and Murmansk to defend and were
under pressure in the North part of Russia. The Americans deployed troops of Major General
William Sidney Graves to conduct a “sterile” intervention53 strictly following the instructions of
neutrality and acomplishing an unclear mission (except of at the time not applicable: “To assist
in evacuation of Czechoslovaks from Russia”, since the Legionaries did not need to help with
evacuation, but with re-establishment of the Eastern front).54 The Allied goverments limited their
help to political and material support. During the years 1918 and 1919 Allies provided 50,000
Czechoslovaks with almost 200 cannons, 1,360 machine guns, 140,000 rifles, 25 aircraft,
240,000 artillery cartridges, and 70 million pieces of small arms ammunition55. The number of
the Entente‘s supplies of equipment and ammunition could satisfy needs of several Legions, but
the Allies brought only little to no manpower. Even during the course of combat when the US
Ambassador Francis called for reinforcement of the Czechoslovak troops against the Bolsheviks,
President Wilson did not respond positively.56 The Legion could not hold the front by itself.
Replacements were needed desperately. The Russian Volunteer Army was not strong enough to
win the anti-Bolshevik struggle, and the Allies were not able to send more troops. The Allied
27
interventions in both, North Russia and in Siberia, totalled 182,000 Allied troops (including
Czechoslovaks).57 To be able to hold the front at Volga, the Legion had to transfer almost all its
units from Rear Baikal and the Far East because it was supported only by national Serb and
Romanian battalions, smaller Latvian units, and Russian-Czechoslovak Regiment. As John M.
House in his paper Wolfhounds and Polar Bears in Siberia: America’s Military Intervention,
1918 – 1920 states: “After World War I there was no popular support in the United States for
long-term, expensive involvement.”58 Thus, there have never been enough Allied forces in
Russia to win the anti-Bolshevik struggle.
While liberating Russian towns, the Czechs and Slovaks could not find many volunteers
to join the Russian Volunteer Army. The Legion itself was tired of fighting too long without a
tangible success, the Combat Exhaustion Syndrom apparently occurred59. Particularly after the
Great War ended and the Czechoslovak Republic was established, many Legionaries did not see
the reason of fighting far from their homeland and being involved in Russian internal matters.
The Legionaries who resisted general demoralization of the 1917 fronts became strongly affected
by leftist and Bolshevik propaganda that led to mutinies. The Legion moral downgrade was
partially hindered by the suicide of Colonel Josef Jiri Svec. This very popular commander
couldn’t bear the shame of refusing his orders. His act stunned all of the Legion. Understanding
the seriousness of the situation, the French General Pierre Thiebaut Maurice Janin, the
Commander of Allied Forces in Russia60 and Admiral Kolchak, distinguished warior,
Commander of the Russian Voluntary Army agreed that the Legion would be relieved in place.
The Czechoslovak units were successively replaced by volunteers of the Russian Army by
January 1919. The Legion was assigned the new mission – to provide security and trafficability
of the determined section of the Trans-Siberian Railway – from Novo-Nikolaevsk to Mysovaja
28
(Rear Baikal area) against local warlords and criminal actors to facilitate supplying of the anti-
Bolshevik front and Allied movement. General Syrovy handed over Supreme Command of the
anti-Bolshevik front to Admiral Kolchak. Only several Czechoslovak soldiers remained in first
line against Bolsheviks. General Gajda became the commander of one of three Kolchak’s armies
(the Siberian Army). A small group of officers joined him.61 The new Legion’s mission was
intrinsically difficult since there were the number of partisan bands operating along the railway
whose collective stregth was estimated at 100,00062.
Other negative moral factors for Legionaries arose – they were not fighting Germans or
Austro-Hungarians in the end of 1918 as they did before WWI ended, but they fought Russians
again - as in the beginning of the Great War. Secondly, as the internal conditions in Russia
changed, the Legionaries were employed against the local population to suppress insurgency
against new local governments.
Russian Voluntary Forces and the Legion
The Allies believed that Kolchak with their help would overthrow Bolshevik power and
return Russia back in war against the Central Powers. Russian Volutary forces, however, were
not able to follow the success of the Legion and they lost a majority of the seized territory. This
happened partially due to Kolchak‘s old-minded Generals and partially due to the ability of the
Red Army to adopt new strategy and to build stronger forces. Trotsky already succeeded to build
three million Red Army in the fall of 1919 that was gradually improving. General Gajda noted in
his memories that “Various partisan groups were transformed to regular units, that became the
base of the further grow of Boshevik armed forces. Command ceased to be comrade-like, it is
concentrated in the person of supreme commander who is superior to commanders of three
29
Armies formed in German pattern.”63 Bolsheviks obviously worked hard to train the Red Army
and make it effective, and militarily and politically united.
Unlike their belligerents, Legionaries were strong supporters of democracy; therefore,
they considered Kolchak’s dictatorship an analogue of Bolshevism. Such difference of beliefs
hindered all efforts of united anti-Bolshevik front. By guarding the railway, which was operated
by Kolchak forces and often attacked by his followers, the Czechoslovaks felt themselves as the
Dictator’s policemen against their own will. Moreover, weak government in combination with
the large scale Bolshevik campaign and corruption of Kolchak’s executive64 led Siberia to
anarchy. A brutality of the Kolchak’s regime turned the Siberian population against the Allies as
the local population perception was that they supported the “Supreme Ruler.”65 The Reds had
spies in every village and they started to practice the tactics of fear. Those who sympathized with
the Czechoslovaks and helped them with information about insurgents or alike were shot. The
similar situation was in other Allies’ zones. Such tactics were difficult to fight especially in the
view of announced withdrawal of foreign forces; therefore, the popular support was decreasing
rapidly.
Before the Red Army seized Omsk on 13 NOV 1919, the Admiral moved his government
to Irkutsk. He loaded his train with Czar’s treasure and headed eastward to join his ministers.
Political chaos and social turmoil caused delays on the rail road. Kolchak reached Nizhneudinsk
in six weeks under Legion’s protection and was resigned from the position of the Russian
Supreme Ruler after he learnt that his government was forced to negotiate with Political Center –
a new, leftist political faction in Irkutsk. The Political Center insisted to take over the Admiral
and the Czar’s gold (see Appendix E). Under unclear circumstances and in spite of the directions
30
of Dr. Benes, the Legion handed Kolchak over to the Political Center. Admiral Kolchak was
executed shortly after on 07 FEB 1920 (see Appendix D).
The acting of the Legion remains unreasonable since the Czechoslovak Corps was still
very powerful and it is not probable that there was any force in the area able to stop or prevent
them from withdrawal. Moreover, the Japanese units dwelled in the vicinity of Irkutsk; Semenov,
despite his relations with the Czechoslovaks, would be able to interfere, and the Kappel’s Army
was approaching the area.
Evacuation from Russia
The Legionaries hoped to leave Russia for the Western front since the Brest-Litovsk
treaty had been signed. They looked for alternatives. A leader of the OCSNR in Russia, Bohdan
Pavlu66 suggested the Legion would fight its way to the West67 or to Archangelsk where the
British operated during that time. When General Stefanik came to Russia in early 1919, he was
considering the long march towards the Southwest, but the terrain and current morale of the
troops wouldn’t have make it possible. Finally, the Czechoslovaks stayed in Russia until 02 SEP
1920 when the last Legionary was evacuated. Totally, 36 transports were dispatched and over
67,700 people were transported through three main directions: First, around Asia, then via Suez
Canal to Trieste; Second, across Pacific ocean, Panama canal, Atlantic ocean to Trieste or
Hamburg; Third, through Pacific ocean to Canadian West coast, by rail road across Canada, then
through Atlantic ocean to Hamburg. Many passengers were not members of the Legion. The
transports took also care of the Legionaries’ family members, civilian personnel, and POWs.68
The Legionaries spent over six war years in Russia, more than 4,000 of them rest buried in
31
Siberian soil; their performance played important role in fighting the Central Powers and
Bolshevik dictatorship.
Conclusion – Contribution and Significance of the Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions represented the military force of the Czechs and Slovaks who
organized their army a long time before the country they dreamed of was established. They
fought against the Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians and often against their compatriots
(approximately 1.4 million Czechs and Slovaks fought in the Austro-Hungarian Army). Facing
the fact that they were deserters, the Czechoslovaks struggled to prove their loyalty toward Allies
by bravery and valour in battlefields of Doss Alto, Terron, Vouziers and Zborov, Kazan, Perm,
and elsewhere. After the peace treaty had been signed between Russian Bolsheviks and Central
Powers, the Legionaries opened fights against the Red Army supported by Germans and Austro-
Hungarians in Russia and thus deprived Central Powers from using their reserves. The Large
number of POWs released in Russia could seriously change the status on the other fronts. The
Czechoslovak Legion in Russia established conditions for the White Russian Volunteer Army to
fight the Red Army units. By fighting against the Bolshevism the Legion supported Thomas
Garrigue Masaryk in his diplomatic efforts seeking creation of the Czechoslovak Republic and
were the major argument in his negotiations. The principal role in behavior of the Legionaries
played the hatred against Germans, idea of Pan-Slavism and the desire for sovereign country of
the Czechs and Slovaks. The Allies recognized the Czechoslovak Army even before the Country
was created.
32
ENDNOTES
1 The name “Legions” was adopted after the war; “The Units of the Czechoslovak Military Forces Abroad” had been more common expression during the war; The Legionaries called themselves mainly “The Czechoslovak Volunteers” 2 Great Moravia was founded in 833, when Mojmír I unified two neighboring states; the "Principality of Nitra" and the "Principality of Moravia" and lasted until 902. 3 Austro-Hungarian compromise – was in fact division of Austrian Empire into two. In 1867 the Austria-Hungary was created and acted as a federation. Hungarian kingdom was recognized. The Czechs did not like it. They expected the Czech kingdom to be renewed as well. 4 Sokol is still functioning in the Czech Republic. It is the biggest civic organization (190,000 members). It was banned by Nazis and Communists, its property was confiscated and it revived repeatedly. 5 “Pravidla Tělocvičné jednoty pražské Sokola“ (Regulations of the Physical Education Fellowship of SOKOL in Prague) Praha : s.n., 1862 6 “NAZDAR” was the greeting of “Sokols” 7 Bullock, David, “The Czech Legion 1914-20”, Osprey publishing, 2009 8 Sokol (Falcon) was huge sport (mainly gymnastic) movement in namely Czech lands during the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century emphasizing the education and development of both mind and body. This antique idea of kalogathia with the elements of patriotism was based by Doctor Miroslav Tyrs and Jindrich Fugner. The association was planned to be Czech-German, however this idea collapsed after one of the sponsors decided to support exclusively the German part. This conflict determined future orientation of Sokol to be the Czech fellowship. ČERVINKA, Václav „U kolébky Sokola : Vzpomínky účastníkovy“. Praha : Šolc a Šimáček, 1920 Rovnost (Equality) was political (socialistic) and literature association founded by Josef Hybes, the deputy of the Czech social democratic party in Austria. It disseminated ideas of social democracy together with Czech patriotic feelings. 9 Bullock, p.10 10 T. G. Masaryk was known Czech university professor. Slovak M. R. Stefanik was his student; later with French citizenship he reached the rank of the French Air force General. - McMillan, Margaret “Paris 1919”, Random House, Inc., New York 2002, p.230 11 Eventually total 2,309 American Czechs and Slovaks fought as a part of The Czechoslovak Legion in France 12 Bullock, p.12 13 Decree of the French government to allow the creation of independent Czech Army 14 “Pravidla Tělocvičné jednoty pražské Sokola“. (Regulations of the Physical Education Fellowship of SOKOL in Prague) Praha : s.n., 1862 15 The worst defeat of Entente in Italy – The Central powers broke the front and made huge advanced. Consequently killed, captured, and deserted around 600,000 Allied troops and seized big amount of Entente’s supplies 16 Bullock, David, The Czech Legion 1914-20, Osprey publishing, 2009, p.14 17 www.cslegie.wz.cz, Author: LTC Milan ŽUFFA-KUNČO, MVD, Accessed 15 JAN 2012 18 http://csol-mb.net, Czechoslovak Legions’ official website, Accessed 15 JAN 2012 19 Geoffrey Swain in “Russian Civil War”, Temus Publishing Inc., Charleston, 2000 says on p.40 that the Czechoslovak legion was a military unit composed from former POWs 20 Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia (other name of the territory of Czech kingdom) 21 According to Julian (Orthodox) calendar 22 Col. Hadzic together with other Serbian officers undertook hard travel from Corfu (where Serbs had been evacuated by the French after their defeat by Central Powers and hard retreat through Montenegro and Albania) through Italy, France, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden to Russia and then to Odessa 23 Klub Srbskych Legionaru (The (Czech) Club of the Serb Legionaries) “Dvacate vyroci boju v Dobrudzi 1916-1936”, Tiskarna Plachy a spol, Praha, 1936 (published at 20th anniversary of the Dobruja campaign) 24 Kuthan, Pavel at www.karelvasatko.cz - The troops were transported from Odessa to Murmansk in JAN 1917. From Murmansk the French ships sailed them to Great Britain, then to French Le Havre and further to Toulon. Then their travel continued through Tunis, Malta and Milos to Thessaloniki where the troops joined other Serb forces in March 1917. 25 1907 Hague Convention (Ch. II, Art. 6)
33
26 1907 Hague Convention (Ch. II, Art. 12), 27 The net of Masaryk’s supporters in the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary called themselves the Czech Mafia 28 These divisions and their regiments were called Finnish by the origin of the garrisons, however rank and file was Russian – the inhabitants of Finnish Archduchy was not obliged to join the army. 29 Infantry Regiment number 86 (with rank and file comprised mainly of Slovaks), Infantry regiment number 35 and Infantry Regiment number 75 fought within Central Powers Forces. 30 Panus, Bernard “Bitva u Zborova” at http://obeclegionarska.cz 31 Kornilov, former St. Petersburg commander acted later as the Russian Army Commander in Chief (named on 19 JUL 1917). The fighting will of the Russian Army had deteriorated following the "March Revolution". In spring 1917 the order # 1 had been issued according to which the soldiers were allowed to elect their commanders and fire unpleasant ones. Kornilov units were efficient battle-worthy unit, surrounded by the crowds of pacifist-minded demoralized soldiers led by the pro-Bolshevik and leftist "committees". 32 Staff Captain Karel Mejstrik – later Division General of the Czechoslovak Army 33 Bullock, p.17 – probably as a part of the Tekinski Horse Battalion – Kornilov’s guard 34 The Czechoslovak soldiers received orders from the Czechoslovak National Council in Russia 35 Деникин А. И. “Очерки Русской Смуты. Крушение власти и армии, февраль—сентябрь 1917”, J. Povolozky & C, Editeurs. 13, rue Bonapartie, Paris (VI). — Nauka, 1991. — ISBN 5-02-008582-0, р. 445;
- The voluntary Army was commanded by Kornilov, Alexeyev took political leadership and finance. After the Kornilov’s death, Anton Denikin took the command over
36 The Independent Shock Battalion, was created on 28 DEC 1917 within the Czechoslovak Legion in Russia – Bullock, p.44 37 Jan Hus was Czech religious reformer, leader of the catholic protestant movement in the 15th century. Hussites were the members of this movement that rose after Master Jan Hus had been burnt by king Sigismund of Luxemburg. Hussites were led by excellent military leader Jan Zizka, (who did not lose any battle) even against crusaders and by religious and ideological leader Prokop the Great (originally Prokop Holy). The Hussites apart from their religious aims fought for the national interests of the Czechs. They not only repelled the attacks of the army of crusaders, but crossed the borders into neighboring countries. 38 General Shokorov led the Legion until March 1918, was the Supreme Inspector of Czech Forces in Russia. He later continued with the Legions to Czechoslovakia where he remained to serve as a General of the Czechoslovak Army. 39 The Czech Legion Project “Accidental Army, DVD, Chicago 2009 40 In this number Czechoslovak Legion, Polish, Romanian and Serb units. 41 The Czech Legion Project, DVD 42 Published in Victor M. Fic “The Bolsheviks and the Czechoslovak legion: the origin of their armed conflict, March-May 1918”, Abhinav Publications, New Delhi 1918, p.55 43 The Austro-Hungarian POWs who threw the medal was actually ethnic Czech called Malik - Bullock, David, The Czech Legion 1914-20, Osprey publishing, 2009, p.19 44 Bullock, p.19;
- Vacha, Dalibor “Ostrovy v bouři, Českoslovenští legionáři a všednost let válečných_1918 – 1920”, Jihoceska universita Historický ústav, Filozofická fakulta, České Budějovice 2006, p.268: Telegram No.1847-R sent on 25 MAY 1918 tasked every railroad worker not to allow Czechoslovak trains to go through the stations
- The 7th Regiment Chronicles states the number of this telegram was 145-50 45 Gajda, Radola “Moje pameti”, Bonus A, Brno 1996, p. 30 46 The Chronicle of the 4th Regiment 47 Czechoslovak pilots were flying on Nieuport 21 and Farman 30 models 48 LTC Ushakov was one of loyal Russian officers (formerly served in Kornilov Regiment) who stayed with the Legion. He was later lynched by Bolsheviks in Baikal station. 49 There were totally 40 tunnels around Baikal lake, 39 of them saved trafficable 50 Curiously, the order for mobilization was issued on 20 AUG 1918 when Czechoslovakia still did not exist 51 House John M. “Wolfhounds and Polar Bears in Siberia: America’s Military Intervention, 1918 – 1920”, DTIC AD-A177 753, University of Kansas, 1986 52 Gajda, Bonus A, p.266
34
53 Briscoe, Charles “The POW Problem in Russia: Justification for Allied Intervention, 1918-1920”, DTIC AD A_043681, SEP 1977, USA CGSC, Fort Leavenworth, p.156 54 House, p.201 55 United States YMCA (Young Men‘s Christian Association) supported all Allied forces in Russia and American Red Cross. 56 Briscoe, p.147 57 Briscoe, p.156 58 “After World War I, there was no popular support in the United States for long-term, expensive involvement” - House , p.199 59 Vácha Dalibor “Ostrovy v bouři, Českoslovenští legionáři a všednost let válečných_1918 – 1920”, Jihoceska universita Historický ústav, Filozofická fakulta, České Budějovice 2006 60 De facto Commander of all Allied units – except the big players – US, Canada, Italy and UK 61 Kolchak asked for Gajda when M.R.Stefanik had been in Russia – Gajda, Radola “Moje pameti”, Vesmir, Praha 1924, p. 128 62 In may 1919 entire 3rd Division found itself in pursuit of several large groups of bandits from Nizhny-Udinsk all the way to Mongolian border. 63 Gajda, Bonus A, p.137 64 In chronicles of the 4th Czechoslovak Regiment the author states that militia had informed Bolshevik guerilla every time the Legion units undertook the operations. 65 House, p.202 66 Later Czechoslovak diplomat and a Deputy of Minister of Foreign Affairs 67 The Chronicles of the 7th Regiment 68 In addition, several Russian anti-Bolshevik commanders undertook the travel to Czechoslovakia and became members of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces.
35
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bibliography – Primary Sources
1. Bullock, David “The Czech Legion 1914-20”, Osprey publishing, 2009
1 McMillan, Margaret, Paris 1919, Random House, 2003, p.235
.
2 Bullock, David, The Czech Legion 1914-20, Osprey publishing, 2009 3 NAZDAR was the greeting of Sokols 4 Sokol (Falcon) was huge sport (mainly gymnastic) movement in namely Czech lands during the end of the 19th and beginning of 20th century emphasizing the education and development of both mind and body. This antique idea of kalogathia with the elements of patriotism was based by Doctor Miroslav Tyrs and Jindrich Fugner. The association was planned to be Czech-German, however this idea collapsed after one of the sponsors decided to support exclusively the German part. This conflict determined future orientation of Sokol to be the Czech fellowship. ČERVINKA, Václav „U kolébky Sokola : Vzpomínky účastníkovy“. Praha : Šolc a Šimáček, 1920 Rovnost (Equality) was political (socialistic) and literature association founded by Josef Hybes, the deputy of the Czech social democratic party in Austria. It disseminated ideas of social democracy together with Czech patriotic feelings. 5 Bullock, David, The Czech Legion 1914-20, Osprey publishing, 2009, p.10
39
9 MAY 1915 – fights at Arras (attack on German positions at Ouvrages Blanches) the Company
suffers huge losses.
16 JUN 1915 – Company NAZDAR disbanded. The survivors are dispersed in different
regiments of the Foreign Legion.
JUL 1917 – Volunteers begin to report to Czechoslovak units from Romania (400).
NOV 1917 – Volunteers report from Russia (1,240 troops led by captain, later general Otakar
Husak); from the United States the first American Czechoslovaks began to arrive (eventually
totaled 2,309).
08 JAN 1918, Paris – Woodrow Wilson delivers his “Fourteen points” program of post-war
arrangement of the world
12 JAN 1918, Cognac – The 21st Rifle Regiment was established (This regiment operated as an
integral part of 53rd French Infantry Division).
Spring of 1918 – the 22nd Rifle Regiment was created after the arrival of second group from
Russia (led by Lieutenant Colonel Hynek Gibis) accompanied by Czechs and Slovaks from
POW camps, volunteers from Italian front and members of former Serbian First Infantry
Division.
22 JUN 1918 – both regiments formed the First Czechoslovak Brigade in Darney. The brigade
operated under the command of French General Philippe within 134th Division and took part in
fighting at Michelbach, Jonchéry-sur-Vesle, and especially at Terron and Vouziers.
“In addition to those who served in the national regiments, over 40,000 Czechoslovaks are
estimated to have served in American and Canadian units during the course of 1917-1918, others
40
formed the 223rd Czech Canadian Battalion that fought in the Western Front from summer
1917.”6
Individual regiments were numbered according to the area of operation: from number one (1) in
Russia, from twenty one (21) in France and from thirty one (31) in Italy.
The Czechoslovak Legion in Italy
AUG 1916 – Jan Capek creates The Czechoslovak Voluntary Corps in POW camp in Santa
Maria Capua Vetere
24 MAY 1918 – The Czechoslovak Division in Italy (6th Czechoslovak Division) with 31st,
32nd, 33rd and 34th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiments that took oath in Rome Piaza di Venezia.
Later on, 35th and 39th regiments joint the Legion.
JUN 1918 – The Czechoslovak Division takes part in heavy fights at Piava
AUG 1918 – The Czechoslovak Division is employed at Monte Baldo massif to defend their
positions at Height Doss Alto near the Lake Garda. 1,190 men were wounded in action.
The Czechoslovak Legion in Russia
AUG 1914 – POW camp in Darnici near Kiev recruitment of volunteers started. Originally the
prisoners of Slavic roots were drafted to Serbian and later to Czechoslovak units. Volunteers
started to enter the Czech Druzhina in particular – the first Czechoslovak unit operating on
Eastern front in the frame of the Russian 3rd Army.
28 SEP 1914 – The Czech Druzhina formed in Kiev
23 OCT 1914 – The Czech Druzhina employed in battle
1915, Odessa – The Czech and Slovak volunteers who asked to fight against Central Powers
along the Serbs were put in the Serb Division under the command of Colonel Stevan Hadzic7
SEP 1916 to OCT 1916 – The Serb Division with Czech Battalion is employed in the Dobruja
Campaign (Balkans) as a part of 47th Russian Expeditionary Corps where it suffers huge losses.
.
The division is driven by Serb commands and regulations, a strict discipline is imposed.
JAN 1917 – 600 Czechoslovak volunteers left for Kiev to join the 1st Czechoslovak Rifle
Brigade.
29 JUN to 02 JUL 1917 – The Battle of Zborov
JUL 1917 – The Czechoslovak Rifle Brigade gets enlarged under new commander Lieutenant
Colonel Nikolai Petrovich Mamontov and creates “The Hussite Division”8
AUG 1917 – Another four regiments are created (5th Prague Regiment of T.G.Masaryk, 6th
Hana, 7th Tatras and 8th Silesia Rifle Regiment)
. (1st Regiment of Jan
Hus, 2nd Regiment of Jiri z Podebrad, 3rd of Jan Zizka and 4th of Prokop the Great).
AUG 1917 – The 2nd Czechoslovak Division is inspected by Tomas Garrigue Masaryk.
SEP 1917 – two Artillery Brigades formed; Reserve Brigade and a Shock Battalion are created.
09 OCT 1917 – The Czechoslovak Army Corps in Russia established under the command of
General Vladimir Shokorov9
7 Col. Hadzic together with other Serbian officers undertook hard travel from Corfu (where Serbs had been evacuated by the French after their defeat by Central powers and hard retreat through Montenegro and Albania) through Italy, France, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden to Russia and then to Odessa
. (The Corps was subordinate to Russian supreme headquarters,
8 Jan Hus was Czech religious reformer, leader of the catholic protestant movement in the 15th century. Hussites were the members of this movement that raised after Master Jan Hus had been burnt by king Sigismund of Luxemburg. Hussites were led by excellent military leader Jan Zizka, (who did not lose any battle) even against crusaders and by religious and ideological leader Prokop the Great (originally Prokop Holy). The Hussites apart from their religious aims fought for the national interests of the Czechs. They not only repelled the attacks of the army of crusaders, but crossed the borders into neighboring countries.
42
command language was Russian, nevertheless in some cases Czech or Slovak languages were
accepted and French disciplinary regulations were implemented.)
07 FEB 1918 – Tomas Garrigue Masaryk declares the Czechoslovak Corps in Russia to be a part
of the Czechoslovak Army in France
20 FEB 1918 – The legion launches its movement from Ukraine.
03 MAR 1918 – The Brest-Litovsk peace treaty between Central powers and Russia
05 – 12 MAR 1918 – Battle of Bakhmach
Totally twenty seven locomotives and 750 box cars were dispatched by the 12 MAR 191810
26 MAR 1918 – Signed “Stalin treaty” on transition of the Legion through Siberia (“The
transport of the group of free citizens carrying a certain amount of weapons for self-defense”)
.
05 APR 1018 – First Japanese contingent in Vladivostok
29 APR 1018 – T.G. Masaryk arrives to Vancouver
09 MAY 1918 – T.G. Masaryk in Washington, D.C.
14 MAY 1918 – Chelyabinsk incident
20 MAY 1918 – The First Congress of the Czechoslovak troops in Russia elects interim
committee who takes the power over the whole Legion and declares the will to reach
Vladivostok even forcibly
21 - 26 MAY 1918 – Trotsky (The supreme commander of soviet forces) orders Red Guards to
disarm the Legion and intern the Czechoslovak troops. Attacks on Czechoslovak transports
follow at Marianovka, Irkutsk, Zlatoust and Krasnojarsk
9 General Shokorov was the Supreme Inspector of Czech Forces in Russia. He later continued with the Legions to Czechoslovakia where he remained to serve as a General of the Czechoslovak Army. 10 The Czech Legion Project “Accidental Army, DVD, Chicago 2009
43
25 MAY 1918 – (Night from 25 to 26 MAY) The Legion uprising against the Soviet government
begins by seizing Novonikolayevsk by Radola Gaida (in 1915 Staff Captain, Now in 1918
Lieutenant Colonel, Later in 1918 General of both the Czechoslovak and the Russian Voluntary
Army)
26 MAY 1918 – Legionaries seized Chelyabinsk and Novo-Nikolaevsk (now Novosibirsk)
26 MAY 1918 – Legionaries under attack in Irkutsk
27 MAY 1918 – Mariinsk seized
27 MAY 1918 – Czechoslovaks attacked nar Zlatoust and are forced to leave their trains and
march through Ural
28 MAY 1918 – Nizhny-Udinsk seized
29 MAY 1918 – Kansk, Penza and Syzran seized
30 MAY 1918 – Legionaries capture important „Alexander bridge“ across Volga river
31 MAY 1918 – Petropavlovsk and Tomsk seized
02 JUN 1918 – Kurgan seized
07 JUN 1918 – Omsk seized
08 JUN 1918 – Samara seized
05 JUL 1918 – Ufa seized
06 JUL 1918 – Vladivostok seized
07 JUL 1918 – Lieutenant Colonel Cecek issues an order to build anti-German front
14 JUL – 16 AUG 1918 – capture of the Baikal tunnels by envelopment through mountain ridge
and the lake
25 JUL 1918 – Yekaterinburg seized (The Czar and his family massacred 16 JUL 1918)
07 AUG 1918 – Kazan seized by land and river operation
44
09 AUG 1918 – Assembly of 259 echelons in Vladivostok - 531 coaches for personnel transport
and 10,287 freight car boxes
OCT 1918 – General Syrovy seizes Nizhnyj Tagil
11 NOV 1918, Compiegne, France – Armistice signed between Entente and Germany
24 DEC 1918 – General Gajda seizes Perm. The last military success of the Legion.
29 JUL 1918 – first French contingent in Vladivostok
02 AUG 1918 – first British contingent in Vladivostok
19 AUG 1918 – Arrival of U.S. troops to Vladivostok
28AUG 1918 – Jan Syrovy named a General and a Supreme Commander of the Czechoslovak
forces in Russia
10 SEP – 08 OCT 1918 – withdrawal of the Legion form Kazan, Simbirska, Syzran and Samara
26 OCT 1918 – A suicide of commander of the 1st Rifle Division, Colonel Švec at Aksakovo
station
18 NOV 1918 – Admiral Kolchak takes over the governance in Omsk by overthrowing the
Interim Government and names himself a Supreme ruler of Russia
15 JAN 1919 – French General Maurice Janin arrives to Russia and takes over the command of
“Allied forces”
15 – 27 JAN 1919 – The Legion relieved in place by new Russian Anti-Bolshevik Army
From 27 JAN 1919 – Guarding of assigned portion of the Trans-Siberian Rail Road and clearing
the surrounding area, counter-insurgency operations along the Rail Road
01 FEB 1919 – 3rd Rifle Division created in Krasnojarsk
14 JUL 1919 – Red Army in Yekaterinburg
45
18 – 25 JUL 1919 – The Legion assesses various courses of action regarding departure of the
troops from Russia including forcible penetration towards Archangelsk that is kept by the British
or penetration to General Denikin fighting in southern Russia. The result of negotiations is the
confirmation of the evacuation from Vladivostok
20 to 29 OCT 1919 – Admiral Kolchak asks the Legion to join the fights again along the
Russian Voluntary Army; Kolchak offers maintaining of the Czechoslovak Legion by the
Russian government. (The Czechoslovak legion has been self-sufficient since the Brest-Litovsk
Treaty was signed)
OCT 1919 – Begins the evacuation of the Legion from Vladivostok
NOV 1919 – Clashes with the Ataman Semenov Cossacks
05 NOV 1919 – General Janin together with the 6th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment withdraws
from Omsk
15 NOV1919 – The red Army seizes Omsk without fight despite the presence of 50000 Russian
(White) troops in the city
16 NOV 1919 – General Syrovy orders full control over the railroad to assure full evacuation of
the Czechoslovak troops to Vladivostok
17 NOV 1919 – General Syrovy orders neutrality to Kolchak forces in case of any uprisings with
the exception of Bolshevik uprisings or rail way destructions
17 to 18 NOV 1919 – Unsuccessful coup of General Gaida in Vladivostok that was thwarted by
the Japanese intervention
19 DEC 1919 – Kolchak near Irkutsk
23 DEC 1919 – Kolchak orders Semenov to stop the Czechoslovak Legion
24 DEC 1919 – Socialist uprising in Irkutsk (Kolchak’s government negotiates with rebels)
46
09 JAN 1920 – Clashes with the Ataman Semenov Cossacks at Michalevo – Mysova area (12
JAN armistice between Semenov and the Legion mediated by the Japanese)
15 JAN 1920 – The Legion hands over Kolchak to new “Political Center” government in Irkutsk
despite Masaryk’s and Benes’s appeals
25 JAN 1920 – The “Political Center” hands over the power to Soviets
07 FEB 1920 – Armistice at Kuytun station (The Council of Peoples’ Commissars will take over
the gold treasure after all Czechoslovak trains leave)
07 FEB 1920 – Kolchak and his prime minister Pepeliayev executed by Bolsheviks despite
Lenin’s appeals and orders
01 MAR 1920 – The last train with the Legionaries leaves Irkutsk for Vladivostok
05 APR 1920 – The Japanese troops seize Vladivostok
13 APR 1920 – Conflict between the Legion and the Japanese troops in Chailar;
02 SEP 1920 – Last ship transport with the Legionaries leaves the Vladivostok for
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48
APPENDIX C - Excerpt from the Hague Conventions 1899 and 190711
Hague Convention 1907CHAPTER IV – The Laws and Customs of War on Land
“Annex to the Convention - REGULATIONS RESPECTING THE LAWS AND CUSTOMS OF
WAR ON LAND, SECTION I: ON BELLIGERENTS,
Chapter II: Prisoners of War”
Art. 4.
Prisoners of war are in the power of the hostile Government, but not of the individuals or corps
who capture them.
They must be humanely treated.
All their personal belongings, except arms, horses, and military papers, remain their property.
Art. 5.
Prisoners of war may be interned in a town, fortress, camp, or other place, and bound not to go
beyond certain fixed limits, but they cannot be confined except as in indispensable measure of
safety and only while the circumstances which necessitate the measure continue to exist.
Art. 6.
The State may utilize the labor of prisoners of war according to their rank and aptitude, officers
excepted. The tasks shall not be excessive and shall have no connection with the operations of
the war.
Prisoners may be authorized to work for the public service, for private persons, or on their own
account.
11 Source: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/, Accessed 15 DEC 2011
49
Work, done for the State, is paid for at the rates in force for work of a similar kind done by
soldiers of the national army, or, if there are none in force, at a rate according to the work
executed.
When the work is for other branches of the public service or for private persons the conditions
are settled in agreement with the military authorities.
The wages of the prisoners shall go towards improving their position, and the balance shall be
paid them on their release, after deducting the cost of their maintenance.
Art. 10.
Prisoners of war may be set at liberty on parole if the laws of their country allow, and, in such
cases, they are bound, on their personal honor, scrupulously to fulfill, both towards their own
Government and the Government by whom they were made prisoners, the engagements they
have contracted. In such cases their own Government is bound neither to require of nor accept
from them any service incompatible with the parole given.
Art. 11.
A prisoner of war cannot be compelled to accept his liberty on parole; similarly the hostile
Government is not obliged to accede to the request of the prisoner to be set at liberty on parole.
Art. 12.
Prisoners of war liberated on parole and recaptured bearing arms against the Government to
whom they had pledged their honor, or against the allies of that Government, forfeit their right to
be treated as prisoners of war, and can be brought before the courts.
Art. 20.
After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of war shall be carried out as quickly
as possible.
50
Hague Convention of 1899
“Declaration II: On the Use of Projectiles the Object of Which is the Diffusion of
Asphyxiating or Deleterious Gases”; July 29, 1899
The Contracting Powers agree to abstain from the use of projectiles the object of which is the
diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases.
The present Declaration is only binding on the Contracting Powers in the case of a war between
two or more of them.
It shall cease to be binding from the time when, in a war between the Contracting Powers, one of
the belligerents shall be joined by a non-Contracting Power.
Hague Convention of 1907, SECTION II: HOSTILITIES
CHAPTER I – Means of Injuring the Enemy, Sieges, and bombardments
Art. 22.
The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited.
Art. 23.
In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden:
To employ poison or poisoned weapons;
To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army;
To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down his arms, or having no longer means of
defense, has surrendered at discretion;
To declare that no quarter will be given:
To employ arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering;
51
- To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag or of the military insignia
and uniform of the enemy, as well as the distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention;
- To destroy or seize the enemy's property, unless such destruction or seizure be
imperatively demanded by the necessities of war;
To declare abolished, suspended, or inadmissible in a court of law the rights and actions of the
nationals of the hostile party. A belligerent is likewise forbidden to compel the nationals of the
hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they
were in the belligerent's service before the commencement of the war.
Art. 24.
Ruses of war and the employment of measures necessary for obtaining information about the
enemy and the country are considered permissible.
Art. 25.
The attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings
which are undefended is prohibited.
Art. 28.
The pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is prohibited.
Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War (Hague XIII); October 18, 1907
“Convention Concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War”
Art. 1.
Belligerents are bound to respect the sovereign rights of neutral Powers and to abstain, in neutral
territory or neutral waters, from any act which would, if knowingly permitted by any Power,
constitute a violation of neutrality.
52
Art. 2.
Any act of hostility, including capture and the exercise of the right of search, committed by
belligerent war-ships in the territorial waters of a neutral Power, constitutes a violation of
neutrality and is strictly forbidden.
Art. 5.
Belligerents are forbidden to use neutral ports and waters as a base of naval operations against
their adversaries, and in particular to erect wireless telegraphy stations or any apparatus for the
purpose of communicating with the belligerent forces on land or sea.
Art. 6.
The supply, in any manner, directly or indirectly, by a neutral Power to a belligerent Power, of
war-ships, ammunition, or war material of any kind whatever, is forbidden.
Art. 7.
A neutral Power is not bound to prevent the export or transit, for the use of either belligerent, of
arms, ammunition, or, in general, of anything which could be of use to an army or fleet.
Art. 8.
A neutral Government is bound to employ the means at its disposal to prevent the fitting out or
arming of any vessel within its jurisdiction which it has reason to believe is intended to cruise, or
engage in hostile operations, against a Power with which that Government is at peace. It is also
bound to display the same vigilance to prevent the departure from its jurisdiction of any vessel
intended to cruise, or engage in hostile operations, which had been adapted entirely or partly
within the said jurisdiction for use in war.
53
Art. 9.
A neutral Power must apply impartially to the two belligerents the conditions, restrictions, or
prohibitions made by it in regard to the admission into its ports, roadsteads, or territorial waters,
of belligerent war-ships or of their prizes.
Nevertheless, a neutral Power may forbid a belligerent vessel which has failed to conform to the
orders and regulations made by it, or which has violated neutrality, to enter its ports or
roadsteads.
Art. 10.
The neutrality of a Power is not affected by the mere passage through its territorial waters of
war-ships or prizes belonging to belligerents.
Art. 11.
A neutral Power may allow belligerent war-ships to employ its licensed pilots.
Art. 13.
If a Power which has been informed of the outbreak of hostilities learns that a belligerent war-
ship is in one of its ports or roadsteads, or in its territorial waters, it must notify the said ship to
depart within twenty-four hours or within the time prescribed by local regulations.
Art. 18.
Belligerent war-ships may not make use of neutral ports, roadsteads, or territorial waters for
replenishing or increasing their supplies of war material or their armament, or for completing
their crews.
54
APPENDIX D – Admiral Kolchak and the Legion
Admiral Aleksandr Vasilyevich Kolchak was former Commander of the Black Sea Fleet,
Russian hero of the war with Japan and of the WWI naval battles against Germany12. Backed by
the British he overthrew the democratic Government of the Directory13
Dictator Kolchak imposed cruel regime. This was one reason why popular support of the
Russians to fight Bolsheviks was unfavorable. Kolchak‘s political program was weak or rather
not addressing the masses, instead of implementing wider democracy, he prohibited some of the
political parties, and his followers –Atamans Semenov, Kalmykov, and Ivanoff-Rinoff mainly
under Japanese protection were committig attrocities and cruel actions across Siberia. When the
prohibited Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) rose up it was supressed by Cossacs and
Czechoslovaks who supported Kolchak in the beginning (SRs and their People’s Army joined
the Reds after some negotiations).
and took over the power
in Eastern Russia, declaring himself the Russian Supreme Ruler. He achieved support of Allies
and were recognized as a highest representative of anti-Bolshevik movement.
Kolchak’s idea of the “United Russia” was the only possible way how to achieve victory
over the Bolsheviks. But Kolchak was apparently not strong enough to win this fight for unity.
He failed to establish strong Russian anti-Bolshevik united front both militarily and politically.
Only within the Czechoslovak Legion’s Area of Operations two Governments were in power,
12 After February revolution in 1917 he became one of the critics of the demoraliziation of Russian Army and was rather sent to the United States as an advisor than to be offered important position in the Provisional government for his high reputation and popularity. 13 The Directory was a Provisional government established on agreement across political spectrum in Russia, main position had Esers (Socialist Revolutionaries), Admiral Kolchak was its Minister of War. The coup against Directory in November 1918 committed actually Ataman Krasilnikov with Cossacs. They arrested all SR (Socialist Revolutionary Party) ministers, Kolchak was offered to become a head of new government. After taking the power Admiral was given dictatorial authority.
55
each of them building its own army with its own Command14. The actions lacked coordination
with General Anton Denikin operating in South and General Nikolay Yudenich operating
independently in the North West15
The Americans disliked Kolchak since he backed or ignored atrocities perpetrated by
uncontrollable Cossacks. When United States soldiers
. Finally, Kolchak was not successful in convincing Allies to
support his anti-Bolshevik fight with manpower.
16 came across these crimes and cruelties
General Graves decided to examine it. An American investigation in the Baikal region indicated
that Semenov killed 40,000 people.17 Atamans Semenov and Kalmykov were so certain of their
positions and of the Japanese support that Kalmykov even did not hesitate to impose physical
punishment on an American soldier.18 Kolchak representatives protested against investigations
and after Americans did not quit, local officials stopped cooperation with the “Polar Bears” –
AEF (American Expeditionary Forces). General Graves considered Kolchak monarchist and
reactionary with tendency of dictatorship. This was not compatible with United States principles
of democracy. General shared the opinion with President Wilson who withheld recognition of
Kolchak’s government, but sent support in form of arms, ammunition and loans.19
Admiral Kolchak could not rely on small French and Italian contingents in Siberia and
the British operated mainly in North West. Moreover, after the loss of Perm, Kolchak was not
able to join with the Siberian and the Northwestern Army and British shifted their support to
Denikin in 1919. Departure of the biggest Kolchak’s supporter forced him to seek support in
14 Fidler Jiri “Generalove – Legionari”, Jota Books, Brno 1999 15 Yudenich was fighting in Northwest part of Russia in alliance with Estonians and the British. He found Northwestern Volunteer Army and created Northwestern Government. 16 The Czech Legion Project “Accidental Army”, DVD, Chicago 2009, states it was National Guard 17 House, p.197 18 After the war, Semenov fled to the United States where he was accused of committing acts of violence against the American soldiers of the Expeditionary Corps. Gajda, Radola “My Memories”, Bonus A, Brno 1996, p.270 19 Lincoln, W. Bruce “Red Victory: A History of the Russian Civil War”, Simon and Shuster, New York 1989
56
Japanese who had no interest to do so because they claimed the territory of East Siberia and
Kolchak was not willing to accept it thus he could not count with their support. Therefore the
chances to maintain the regime and some basis of future anti-Bolshevik resistance collapsed in
the end of 1919 particularly when Omsk was seized by the Red Army20
On 13 NOV 1919, only hours before Omsk was captured by Bolsheviks, Kolchak left for
Irkutsk. He followed his ministers who were to shift the Government there. In all towns however,
in the government vacuum, leftists – in particular SRs searched to take the power and uprisings
took place. Therefore Admiral’s train was delayed. However, Kolchak believed that the
Czechoslovak troops were delaying his train deliberately and ordered Semenov to slow down or
interrupt the Czechoslovak departure to Vladivostok.
and the Kolchak’s
government had to be evacuated further to East – to Irkutsk.
21
On 20 DEC 1919, Admiral’s coach together with the Czar’s gold treasure reached
Nizhneudinsk.
The Legion scattered Semenov’s
Cossacks several weeks later.
22
20 The city of Omsk was garrisoned by almost 50,000 White soldiers, and it was taken without fight.
A group of SRs and Mensheviks took the power over in Irkutsk and formed so
called Political Centre. Concerned by the ongoing uprising, General Janin sent Kolchak a
telegram suggesting him to stay at Nizhneudinsk and wait until the situation is clear. After he
received message that his government negotiate about capitulation on 04 JAN 1919 Kolchak
announced his resignation and delegated authority of the Supreme Ruler to General Denikin and
21 Semenov’s Cossacks made everything to hamper the Legion. But on 09 JAN 1920 in accordance with General Syrovy orders the reinforced 4th Czechoslovak Rifle Regiment launched an operation against Semenov forces. The fight took place in area of Baikal railway station and some detached garrisons. In a short four hours long fight the Semenovs were defeated and the Czechoslovaks took six armored trains, seven cannons, twenty machine guns and large amount of ammunition Among more than 1600 prisoners about seventy were officers. The armistice between Semenov and Czechoslovaks was mediated by the Japanese on 12 JAN 1920. 22 Admiral Kolchak administered one half of the Czar’s gold. The gold was taken from Bolsheviks by the Legion and Voluntary Army units in Kazan in the beginning of August 1918 and transported to Chelyabinsk and then to Omsk. Half of the treasure had been handed over to Germans as a part of war reparations after the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty.
57
in the same time to Ataman Semenov in the East. When Janin proposed Admiral that the Allies
could take over the treasure under their protection, Kolchak refused and said that “better the
treasure falls in Bolsheviks hands but remained in Russia than it would be exported abroad”23.
After a discussion with his personal guard of sixty officers while considering next steps24 he
gave his officers freedom of the choice. All of them left him during the night. Admiral Kolchak
as a private person was taken under protection of the Allies and his coaches continued with the
Czechoslovak train. They were stopped again by Political Center representatives and members of
the 5th Red Army (its vanguard) at Inokentyevskiy station and finally in Kuytun station where the
Czechoslovak forces were forced to negotiate their further transport with representatives of the
new Irkutsk Government and even with local miners for coal supplies. The SRs and Mensheviks
repeatedly threatened that with their supporters they could make the Legion’s evacuation
impossible. After the long negotiations the Legion handed Admiral over to the leftist authorities
of Irkutsk on 15 JAN 1920 despite the appeals of Czechoslovak Foreign Minister Edvard Benes.
General Janin declared: “We psychologically cannot take the responsibility for Admiral’s safety.
After that he refused my proposals of taking the gold under the protection of Allies and he
distrusted my intentions, I can do nothing yet.”25
23 Khandorin, Vladimir Genadievich “Admiral Kolchak: the truth and the myths”, Tomskij Gosudarstvennij Universitet, 2007
Six days later the Bolsheviks took over the
power in Irkutsk and after short investigation they shot Admiral Kolchak along with his Prime
Minister Viktor Pepelyayev early in the morning on 07 FEB 1920. The Bolsheviks executed
Kolchak despite repeated orders of Lenin not to do so and to wait for a trial. General Syrovy
obtained a challenge for a duel from general Kappel whose Army was marching towards Irkutsk
with intention to free Admiral. The Czechoslovaks protested against the execution formally in
24 Kolchak first considered the option to escape to Mongolia 25 Kuznecov, Nikita A. “Admiral Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak”, 2007
58
memorandum issued on 15 FEB 1920. Later a courier came to General Syrovy and brought a
parcel stated this to be personal delivery to Commanding General of the Czechoslovak Corps in
Russia. When Syrovy opened the parcel, the silver coins came out. The letter inside stated: “To
the Commanding officer of the Czechoslovak Forces, General Syrovy. Officers and soldiers of
the Izhevskaya and Votkinskaya Divisions send General Jan Syrovy THIRTY SILVER COINS –
the price of the blood of Judas the traitor.”26
The Admiral’s handover had other serious consequences more than twelve years later.
French President Paul Doumer was assassinated by Russian emigrant Pavel Gorgurov who stated
that his motive had been French betrayal of Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak.
On the 07 FEB 1920 the negotiating parties in Kuytun station came into an agreement.
The Czechoslovaks would hand over the Czar’s treasure to representatives of the legitimate
Soviet government and withdraw their troops through Vladivostok (in fact first ships has already
being departing since 15 JAN 1919) and the Reds would not obstruct the withdrawal. Eventually
on 08 FEB 1920 the Czechoslovak echelons started to move eastward with exception of their
rear guard provided by the 7th Rifle Regiment.
26 Kotomkin, Aleksandr “About the Czechoslovak Legionaries in Siberia 1918-1920, Memories and Documents”, Imprimerie d’art Voltaire, Paris 1930
59
APPENDIX E – The Czar’s Treasure
There are lots of legends and theories about where the treasure ended. Some of them say
the Czechoslovaks stole it and back it with “facts” (K.V.Sacharov, V.G.Khandorin); others are
convinced it has been in Baikal deep waters (Izvestiya, 31 AUG 2010). The fact is that Admiral
Kolchak used significant part of the treasure to fund his army and governance. Before he left
Omsk, Kolchak allocated a part of the Czar’s gold including the personal jewelry of Emperor’s
family. General Dieterichs got it loaded into medical coaches marked with red crosses and
according to Supreme Ruler’s instructions handed it over to the British military mission in
Vladivostok.27
It has been known that the British Empire was willing to provide Kolchak with
mainly material support and that this assistance was paid by Russian gold. The Legionaries had
been guarding box cars with the treasure together with Russians since it had left Omsk in NOV
1919 until it was handed over to legitimate authorities. The treasure changed its owner (and
respective Russian part of its guards) three times. Such circumstances provide a fertile soil for
accusation that any army would have to face. The handover of the box cars and the content lasted
until 01 MAR 1920 and was properly recorded by both sides.
27 Kuznecov, Nikita A. “Admiral Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Kolchak”, 2007
